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Biography

Dr Susan Flynn is Head of Department of Creative Arts, and Senior Lecturer, at South East Technological University in Waterford. A Board Member of the Irish Humanities Alliance, and Chair of the Analysing Social Change research group, Susan is also the SETU representative on the EU Conexus Social, Cultural & Human Sciences Institute (SCHSI). She is Research Associate of the Equality Studies Centre in UCD and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy UK. 

From 2025-26, Susan was a TU Rise Research Scholar, co-financed by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021–27 and the Northern & Western Regional Programme 2021–27 as part of the TU RISE programme at SETU. In 2025 Susan was the recipient of the SETU Research Excellence in Supervision award.

Before becoming Head of Department, Susan was Director of eduCORE research centre at SETU Carlow. From 2014-2019 Susan lectured at University of the Arts, London, where she acted as Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader of MA Media Communications and Critical Practice, and was a Visiting Professor at Hong Kong University. 

Susan's doctoral research applied a Foucauldian lens to the relationship between technologies and personhood. Her research has subsequently explored many facets of equality and inclusion, particularly in relation to spaces and places, digital technologies, culture and the arts.  

My research is focussed on equality, citizenship, and belonging, from remote regions to the smart city. My TU Rise research centres on bringing the citizen into the core of research, knowledge creation and social change in our region. It involves a number of projects centred on the citizen’s involvement with new, green, digital technologies. The aim is to improve our engagement beyond the university, and to support the development of smart, green economies. 

I have extensive research experience in inequality, digital technologies for education, and the arts. I have supervised a wide range of post graduate theses and projects in these areas, and welcome new research proposals from graduate students.

Current EU Research Projects:

EU COST Action, 'Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe' management committee member.

EU Conexus 'Community Engagement through Arts and Culture', work package member.

EU CITO project member.

Books

Flynn, S. & Hayes, R., eds. (2023) Urban Planning for the City of the Future: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Bradford: Emerald.

Flynn, S. ed. (2022) Equality in the City: Imaginaries of the Smart Future. Bristol: Intellect.

Flynn, S. & Marotta, M., eds. (2022) Critical Pedagogy, Race and Media: Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education Teaching. London: Routledge.

Flynn, S. & Mackay, A., eds. (2021) Screening American Nostalgia. New York: McFarland.

Flynn, S. ed. (2020) The Body Onscreen in the Digital Age: Essays on Voyeurism, Violence and Power. New York: McFarland.

Flynn, S. & Mackay, A., eds. (2019) Northern Lights Film and Media Studies Yearbook. Bristol: Intellect.

Flynn, S. & Mackay, A., eds. (2019) Surveillance, Architecture and Control: Discourses on Spatial Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Flynn, S. & Mackay, A., eds. (2018) Surveillance, Race, Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Flynn, S. & Mackay, A., eds. (2017) Spaces of Surveillance: States and Selves. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Book chapters

'Heritage, Libraries, and Inclusion: a case study of Waterford Central City Library' in Flynn, S. & Hayes, R., eds. (2023) Urban Planning for the City of the Future: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Bradford: Emerald.

‘Screening Performance: Bauman’s Practices of Selfhood in Liquid Modern Times’ in Timonfuga, T. ed. (2022) Screening the Art World. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

‘Multicultural Education in the films of Gurinder Chadha’ in Bhat, S.D. ed. (2022) Diaspora and Cultural Negotiations: The Films of Gurinder Chadha. Maryland USA: Lexington Books.

‘Race, Cells and the Oprah Effect: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ in Flynn, S. & Mackay, A, eds. (2018) Surveillance, Race, Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

‘Secret Selves and the Graph Diaspora’ in Flynn, S. & Mackay, A. eds. (2017)  Spaces of Surveillance: States and Selves. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

‘Get Your Legs Back: Avatar and the Re-Booting of American Individualism’ in Fraser, B. ed. (2016) Cultures of Representation: Disability in World Cinema Contexts. New York: Columbia University Press.

 

Peer reviewed articles

Flynn, S. (2023) 'Academia in Liquid Modernity; digital overload, cultivation, and authenticity in teaching work' Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies. Vol 44 (1).

Flynn, S., Cullinane, E., Murphy, H. & Wylie, N. (2023) 'Micro-learning, Digital Badges and Micro-credentials. Definitions, Affordances and Design Considerations for application in Higher Education Institutions' All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Vol 14 (1).

Flynn, S., Collins, J. & Malone, L. (2022) 'Part-time Learners Perceptions of Success during ERT' The Adult Learner: The Irish Journal of Adult and Community Education. Vol 2022.

Abbott, K. & Flynn, S. (2022) 'Outdoor education, interaction and reflection: a study of Irish outdoor ECEC' Irish Educational Studies.  DOI: 10.1080/03323315.2022.2088591

Bates-Evoy, S., Dooly, Z., Flynn, S., Hearne, L. & Murphy, H. (2022) CITO Policy Impact Evaluation Report. Available at: 3.2-CITO-Policy-Evaluation-Report-February-2022-WIT.pdf (citoproject.eu)

Flynn, S., Collins, J. & Malone, L. (2022) 'Pandemic Pedagogies: The impact of ERT on part-time learners in Ireland' International Journal of Lifelong Education. Vol 41 (2).

Flynn, S. & Nolan, S. (2021) ‘Researching Inclusion in HE: A Narrative of Initial Enquiry’ All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Vol 13 (3).

Flynn, S. (2021) ‘Education, Digital Natives and Inequality’ Irish Journal of Sociology Vol. 29 (2) 248–253.

Flynn S. & Noonan, G. (2020) ‘Mind the Gap: Academic Staff Experiences of Remote Teaching During the COVID-19 Emergency’ All Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Vol 12 (3) 1-18.

Flynn, S. (2019) ‘Mar Adentro: Haunting Ability, Masculinity, and Human Rights’ International Journal of Communication Enquiry. Vol 7 (1) 98-109.

Flynn, S. (2019) 'The Future is Fixable: Convention and Ableism in Science Fiction'. Journal of Science Fiction. Vol 3 (2) 76-92.

Flynn, S. & Wright, J. (2017) Editorial: ‘Troubled Identity and the Continuing Relevance of Cultural Studies’. The Apollonian: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. Vol 9, 7-10.

Flynn, S. (2017) ‘Ex Machina: Possessing and Repossessing the Body.’ Ethos: A Digital Review of Arts, Humanities and Public Ethics. Vol 3, 32-46.

Flynn, S. (2016) Editorial: ‘Migration, Transnationalism and the Cultural Logic of Global Identity’. American, British and Canadian Studies Journal. Vol 27, 5-14.

Flynn, S. (2016) ‘The Creative Debut: privileging student voice.’ Spark UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal. Vol 1 (2), 95-97.

Flynn, S. (2016) ‘Ambiguous Bodies, Biopower and the Ideologies of Science Fiction.’ A/R/T Analyses, Rereadings, Theories. Vol 6, 25-33.

Flynn, S. (2015) ‘New Poetics of the Film Body: Docility, Molecular Fundamentalism and Twenty First Century Destiny.’ American, British and Canadian Studies Journal, Vol 24, 5-23.

Flynn, S. (2015) ‘Considerations on the Film Industry; Equality, Culture and Representation.’ Considering Disability Journal. Vol 1.

Flynn, S. (2015) ‘Review: “Practices of Selfhood.” American British Canadian Studies Journal. Vol 25, 191-193.

 

Conference Presentations 

IAIE Internationalisation in Higher Education Conference, SETU. 12th-13th June 2025. Title: Creative Internationalisation through Arts & Culture: A Case Study from EU-CONEXUS.

ED Tech: Irish Learning Technology Association Conference, SETU. 29th-30th May 2025. Title: Digital Equality: What Managers Think.

Urban Transitions: Integrating Transport, Environment and Health for Healthier Urban Living, Sitges, Spain. 5th-7th Nov 2024. Title: Imagining Future Waterford; exploring the space of social justice in city planning. 

EU Conexus Eenviro Research Conference. Bucharest, Romania, 29th-31st October 2024. Title: Urban Living Labs Addressing Environmental Concerns: Smart SE and the case of Waterford Citizen Participation.

Global Challenges, Regional Collaboration and the Role of Places; Regional Studies Association International Conference, Florence, Italy 11th-14th June 2024. Title: Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Urban Future: A case study of Waterford, from theory to reality.

Illuminating Legacies; Sociological Association of Ireland Conference, University College Dublin. 8th-9th June 2023. Title: Heritage, Libraries, and Inclusion: A Case Study.

Equitas EDI in Higher Education Conference, South East Technological University. 25th-26th May 2023. Title: Room for Inclusion: Diversity in the University Space.

International Network for the Study of Spirituality Conference, South East Technological University. 16th-18th May 2023. Title: Freire and Inclusion: A Dialogue.

Recreating the World: Critique, Control and Crisis in New Social Realities: Research Symposium, South East Technological University.  24th-25th March 2023. Title: Community Building and Inclusion: A Case Study.

EuroSoTL Learning and Teaching Festival, Manchester Metropolitan University. 15th-18th June 2021. Title: Learning with our Learners: Current Research on Remote Teaching and Learning in an Irish Higher Education Institution.

Sociological Association of Ireland Annual Conference, Ireland. 7th-8th May, 2021. Title: Liminal Spaces: Institutes of Technology in the Age of the TU.

Digitally Enhanced Learning Conference, York University, Toronto. 20th-22nd Sept 2018. Title: The Other Voices Project: Digital Narratives in Conversation.

MeCCSA Annual Conference. London South Bank University, UK. 10th-12th Jan 2018. Title: Surveillance, Race, Culture.

BAAS International Conference, Queens University Belfast. 7th-9th April 2016. Title: Spaces of Surveillance, States and Selves.

Other Voices Inaugural Conference, University of the Arts London. 6th-10th June 2016. Title: Critical Multiculturalism, Ableism and HE.

IASS International Conference, Trinity College Dublin, 10th-12th May 2015. Title: Foucault and the Future.

International Disability Studies Conference, Lancaster University, UK. 9th-11th Sept 2014. Title: Digital Futures: Biotechnology and Cure in Contemporary Film.

Sociological Association of Ireland Annual Conference, DIT, Dublin. 10th-15th Aril 2014. Title: Up Close and Personal: Touch, Sentience and Digital Selves.

Disability Studies International Conference, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. 28-30th Oct 2013. Title: Avatars and Normalization; Popular Culture, Digitisation, Contemporary Life.

World Film Conference, University of Vienna, 2nd-5th May 3013. Title: Avatar's Dream: Digitisation and Contemporary Ability.

Universitas 21 International Forum, Humanities Institute, UCD. 4th-6th Sept 2013. Title: Diversity, Digitisation, Selfhood.

Visualising Ireland Conference, Humanities Institute, UCD. 4th-6th July 2008. Title: Visualising Disability in Irish Society.

Funded by TU Rise, in Sept 25 I embark on a research project titled Citizen Engagement and Social Connections in the Green Digital Region. This project prioritizes citizen engagement initiatives to ultimately address economic, social and territorial disparities. It aims to establish SETU as an international leader in the research and praxis of citizen engagement; the active involvement of citizens in the decision-making processes and activities that affect their lives, communities, and society. The project emphasizes the participation of citizens in our research to promote transparency, accountability, and collaboration between SETU, organizations, and the public, in particular remote, disenfranchised regions such as Gaeltacht na Déise. This programme of work is centred on bringing the citizen into the core of research, knowledge creation and social change in our region, creating a citizen engagement blueprint.